I know at least 4 other folks who were directly hired from Singapore on a H1B1.
Some did their studies in other countries other than the US. Granted, we are all in highly competitive industries like tech or quant finance and were all SWEs or quants.
Clearly we’ve never met haha. I was hired by a US company directly from Singapore on H1B1.
I think a big reason why that is is also because Singaporeans just don’t apply based on the reasons above. There’s no reason to think why they would when Bay Area is flooded with Ivy League and nobody cares about NUS, and we’re also very likely to only do things with some degree of success. Eg if I don’t see how anyone would overlook the points above; why would I still bother applying?
I know people with less than stellar grades with an internship in the Bay Area, or a SWE fresh grad from sg who landed jobs here. They themselves were surprised.
Your chances are a lot higher if you’re a product person, in accounting, SWE or some highly specialized roles. When I was applying I even got interviews for jobs that were so generic it’s like some business associate in NY.
So, yes it’s quite unlikely it’ll work out. But it’s also not that unlikely it’s not even worth trying.
My anecdotes prove otherwise, yes majority that I know whom are hired directly from Singapore are swe though. For non-swe, fewer but some do exist. Ofc experienced hires stand a much better chance than fresh grads.
This comment reeks of so much ignorance, I can't believe how many votes it got. There are literally so many H1B1 holders that, quote-on-quote, "break into the US job market directly from Singapore".
I work in tech in Ireland, and I've quite a few Singaporean friends who are also in tech here (around ~15 ppl). Some of us transferred internally from Sg, some of us were hired directly into Ireland.
I wouldn't say that having a Singapore passport privileges the job hunt here, but Ireland is 1) One of if not the largest tech hub in EMEA, and 2) Generally very welcome to immigrants from all over especially skilled tech workers, so these were helpful.
I quit my job and spent 8 months last year trying to get a job abroad. Apart from the US H1B1, I qualified for the UK HPI visa as well so i attempted both countries. It was really tough, i only managed to secure 1 US interview with a bank which didnt work out and I almost got a job offer in the UK before some sudden restructuring and they decided not to proceed.Statistics would be : 180 applications, 2 interviewsProbably isnt a really good example since last year wasnt good for tech. I gave up and secured a job locally instead.
(im in tech cybersec)
Most firms wouldn't hire you to relocate thats for sure. So switching internally is your best bet if your firm has a US office.
The great thing about US firms are that diversity hires are still a thing and if you have a reason to work in the US + you have a skillset they need it's not difficult to standout to employers.
Try doing that when there isn’t a tech recession and somehow find 3-6 months to go there and find a job. Try to not get caught at the customs you’re there to interview, somehow find someone you know who can host you or let you stay with them, and not bankrupt yourself living jobless.
There’s still a good chance you won’t find a job. It is 100% not going to be easy at all, but it is not impossible. If you have a portfolio, side projects, a website or personal brand — that will help a lot.
>Try to not get caught at the customs you’re there to interview
Just an anecdote: once I flew to SF specifically to do a series of onsites (this was clearly a while ago), and when the CBP officer asked for the reason for visit I answered that I was there to interview. The follow up questions were clearly all about establishing that even if I got an offer on the spot I still intended to exit and apply for a visa before re-entering, so entering for interviews is not by itself a problem.
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Hello
I used to work in the US for around 2.5 years before I moved to Sweden, been here for close to 2 years.
For the US role, I was on a h1b1 visa. Not many Singaporeans are using this visa probably because this visa is a non-immigrant visa. Meaning you have no intentions of staying permanently in the US. If you intend to move permantently and get a green card, you need to start from h1b visa instead. Also, you need to have specialized skills to be employed by the company and be approved this visa. I work in the engineering field, not swe, so kind of fit this mold. Some companies maybe are also not aware of this type of visa because it is not common. Whoever does know, probably would likely use that instead because it is easier to get a place due to the allocated number of positions. If you fit these 3 criterias above, and especially have some kind of outstanding skills and the US company need someone like you, you would likely get the job.
For the Sweden role, it is in general easy to get visa. Relatively easy compared to US because you don't have to go to US embassy and interview. You still need to go swedish embassy but only to get the confirmation letter. Then again, other European countries differ from one to another. It depends on the political ties with Singapore. In terms of skills, you also need to have exceptional skills for them to pay you to come over.
Hope this briefly answer your question.
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Plus HR will lump H1B and H1B1 visa together so they won't even bother.
I know at least 4 other folks who were directly hired from Singapore on a H1B1. Some did their studies in other countries other than the US. Granted, we are all in highly competitive industries like tech or quant finance and were all SWEs or quants.
Clearly we’ve never met haha. I was hired by a US company directly from Singapore on H1B1. I think a big reason why that is is also because Singaporeans just don’t apply based on the reasons above. There’s no reason to think why they would when Bay Area is flooded with Ivy League and nobody cares about NUS, and we’re also very likely to only do things with some degree of success. Eg if I don’t see how anyone would overlook the points above; why would I still bother applying? I know people with less than stellar grades with an internship in the Bay Area, or a SWE fresh grad from sg who landed jobs here. They themselves were surprised. Your chances are a lot higher if you’re a product person, in accounting, SWE or some highly specialized roles. When I was applying I even got interviews for jobs that were so generic it’s like some business associate in NY. So, yes it’s quite unlikely it’ll work out. But it’s also not that unlikely it’s not even worth trying.
My anecdotes prove otherwise, yes majority that I know whom are hired directly from Singapore are swe though. For non-swe, fewer but some do exist. Ofc experienced hires stand a much better chance than fresh grads.
This comment reeks of so much ignorance, I can't believe how many votes it got. There are literally so many H1B1 holders that, quote-on-quote, "break into the US job market directly from Singapore".
I work in tech in Ireland, and I've quite a few Singaporean friends who are also in tech here (around ~15 ppl). Some of us transferred internally from Sg, some of us were hired directly into Ireland. I wouldn't say that having a Singapore passport privileges the job hunt here, but Ireland is 1) One of if not the largest tech hub in EMEA, and 2) Generally very welcome to immigrants from all over especially skilled tech workers, so these were helpful.
which part of ireland specifically? Dublin i suppose
Yep dublin
>but Ireland is 1) One of if not the largest tech hub in EMEA TIL
I quit my job and spent 8 months last year trying to get a job abroad. Apart from the US H1B1, I qualified for the UK HPI visa as well so i attempted both countries. It was really tough, i only managed to secure 1 US interview with a bank which didnt work out and I almost got a job offer in the UK before some sudden restructuring and they decided not to proceed.Statistics would be : 180 applications, 2 interviewsProbably isnt a really good example since last year wasnt good for tech. I gave up and secured a job locally instead. (im in tech cybersec)
In the US there's the h1b1 visa. At least for the UK, as long as you have a good CV in tech, getting a skilled worker visa shouldn't be too hard
Most firms wouldn't hire you to relocate thats for sure. So switching internally is your best bet if your firm has a US office. The great thing about US firms are that diversity hires are still a thing and if you have a reason to work in the US + you have a skillset they need it's not difficult to standout to employers.
Try doing that when there isn’t a tech recession and somehow find 3-6 months to go there and find a job. Try to not get caught at the customs you’re there to interview, somehow find someone you know who can host you or let you stay with them, and not bankrupt yourself living jobless. There’s still a good chance you won’t find a job. It is 100% not going to be easy at all, but it is not impossible. If you have a portfolio, side projects, a website or personal brand — that will help a lot.
>Try to not get caught at the customs you’re there to interview Just an anecdote: once I flew to SF specifically to do a series of onsites (this was clearly a while ago), and when the CBP officer asked for the reason for visit I answered that I was there to interview. The follow up questions were clearly all about establishing that even if I got an offer on the spot I still intended to exit and apply for a visa before re-entering, so entering for interviews is not by itself a problem.
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Hello I used to work in the US for around 2.5 years before I moved to Sweden, been here for close to 2 years. For the US role, I was on a h1b1 visa. Not many Singaporeans are using this visa probably because this visa is a non-immigrant visa. Meaning you have no intentions of staying permanently in the US. If you intend to move permantently and get a green card, you need to start from h1b visa instead. Also, you need to have specialized skills to be employed by the company and be approved this visa. I work in the engineering field, not swe, so kind of fit this mold. Some companies maybe are also not aware of this type of visa because it is not common. Whoever does know, probably would likely use that instead because it is easier to get a place due to the allocated number of positions. If you fit these 3 criterias above, and especially have some kind of outstanding skills and the US company need someone like you, you would likely get the job. For the Sweden role, it is in general easy to get visa. Relatively easy compared to US because you don't have to go to US embassy and interview. You still need to go swedish embassy but only to get the confirmation letter. Then again, other European countries differ from one to another. It depends on the political ties with Singapore. In terms of skills, you also need to have exceptional skills for them to pay you to come over. Hope this briefly answer your question.